I seem to have developed a recent allergy to alcohol ,I have never been a big drinker but would go out maybe once every 10 days or so and drink a number of beers with no after effects ,however recently whenever I even drink a couple of pints Iam badly affected .
Yesterday was typical had 2 and a half pints of 4.5% beer over a 2 hour period felt fine but an hour later had really bad stomach pains then felt nauscous and threw up violently and then had diarrhea ,after all this was out my body I slowly recovered .
Has anybody had similar issues and what is causing it ,will have to give up alcohol (not that it is a huge ) just would like to know what is causing this
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Those reactions sound like some sort of food poisoning. Check if it this is consistent with consumption of alcohol on its own or is it a reaction to something else? I'd seek medical attention if it continues. I am almost sure I am allergic to alcohol (which is a poison and so explains why the liver tries to conjugate it so quickly) so need to take care consuming more than 2 pints or equivalent these days.
“ Ford... you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.” HHGTTG
Bit of a warning flag waving here.
Could be an aversion to the stuff (hope it isn't contageous!) but keep an eye out for it being a warning of some health problem; post-alcohol a coincidence rather than a trigger.
Hope you manage to avoid the unpleaseant symptoms whatever the cause; my life is spent as an accolyte of Bacchus, but if it was damaging my health in any way I would ditch the alcohol.
I always say that if alcohol was invented today, it would be a Class A banned drug tomorrow.
That sounds awful. I’d definitely get some medical advice. Hopefully nothing serious but would make sense to get a proper diagnosis.
Good luck!
Thanks for the advice will try and get appointment with the doctor and see what they say (very tricky to do in these covid times )
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Pints from local pubs or same brand of beer ?
If yes then i would try bottles from a supermarket to make sure the local pubs are not selling old junk or whatever.
Could be another medical issue though or one ingredient in the drinks and not the alcohol itself
very tough to say, making right choice to see a Dr.
Its not wasting their time,
gluten intolerance maybe?
https://www.livestrong.com/article/5...evels-in-beer/
ktmog6uk
marchingontogether!
Did cross my mind but presumably would have manifested itself with food products?Originally Posted by ktmog6uk
There are GF beers in the supermarket so that would be a test.
Don't believe all that is written about gluten intolerance ... many people think they are gluten intolerant when they are not . Please refer to Prof Time Spector's book 'Spoon Fed' and Chapter 16 therein "The Gluten free fad" . Supermarkets are cashing in on the 'fad' by stocking aisles full of gluten free products.
Don't confuse coeliac disease and gluten intolerance with IBS symptoms. True gluten allergy is a relatively rare condition. We humans have been eating wheat products for tens of thousands of years with few ill effects ... and long before the advent of Sainsbury's 'gluten free' shelves. Prof Tim Spector is one of the world's leading epidemiologists and and professor of epidemiology at Kings College London ... and is very knowledgable about diet fads ... and the placebo effect of same.
Last edited by sundial; 4th November 2021 at 02:36.
"Well they would say that ... wouldn't they!"
sadly I have been diagnosed Coeliac (about 15year ago) - took ages to get a proper test even though my weight dropped to below 9stone and also other severe health issues. I’ve ended up with complications like osteoporosis due to malnutrition caused by it too. It has become more prevalent with the modern processed food diet. Sometimes coeliac and IBS are confused.
I would suggest seeking medical advise. Coeliac desses eventually is diagnosed with a blood test followed by biopsy for confirmation.
It was a pain at work as typical by in for “brown bag” or working lunches were sandwiches / pizza / bread rolls etc - I ended up only eating plain crisps. Typically got passed off as a “fad” not a life threatening situation in the long term .
Anyway enough ranting and agree the GF diets for a non-coeliac is a gravy train. There were no GF foods for me when first diagnosed and had to get stuff on prescription.
“ Ford... you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.” HHGTTG
Gluten is a well documented trigger of IBS symptoms in many people. So gluten intolerance and IBS are not mutually exclusive. Gluten intolerance is a spectrum and so not easily or well-studied. It doesn't help that a lot of food that has gluten in it also has a lot of other "crap" in it. "Gluten-free" products are kind of dumb - there are plenty of healthy whole foods that naturally don't contain gluten.
Bottom-line if someone has IBS symptoms it usually is worth cutting out gluten for awhile to see if it has a positive effect.
Try cider, alcohol w/o gluten. Might narrow down the issue.
Sorry it took you so long to be diagnosed Martyn, that sucks. Do you mind me asking how old you were when you got diagnosed? I find it quite an interesting phenomenon that many people are diagnosed late in life after eating gluten without real issues for many years, I assume there was a lengthy period in your life when you had gluten without issue?
Asides from trying to diagnose it in my patients, my nan was diagnosed with coeliac in her late 70s!
My admittedly, rather anecdotal, theory is that coeliac disease could be at the thick end of gluten intolerance (not just my theory, I know gastroenterologists that also are convinced of it) and like many auto-immune processes can become worse with age and varying other factors.
It probably isn't quite as simple as everyone is either coeliac or not coeliac. People certainly can become coeliac after being gluten intolerant. The difference, as you say is a pronounced inflammatory response in the gut resulting in destruction of the microscopic parts of your intestine which absorb nutrients.
I’ve always thought I have some kind of issue with alcohol - I’m ok with lagers generally and in moderation but bitter, IPA and wine all give me stomach ache and make me feel ill as opposed to drunk - not vomiting and diarrhoea, just bloated and uncomfortable. As a result I’ve never been much of a drinker, as gut ache stops me from drinking too much - but otherwise I have a bit of a cast iron stomach - I can’t think of any food that disagrees with me at all tbh - and I’ve had the same reaction from my late teens to my now early 50’s. It does seem odd to suddenly develop an issue and I’d see the doctor though
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The best advice. My father-in-law self diagnosed as having gluten intolerance. He has intermittent bouts of severe stomach pain. Changing to gluten free products seemed to help but only partially. After more that a year he went to a doctor and found out he had a hernia and needed surgery. Post surgery, no more stomach pain and he can enjoy a sandwich.
If you want to 'test' whether it is gluten or alcohol. Monty's Brewery does some mighty fine gluten-free beers. If you like stout, there Dark Secret is gorgeous (and gluten free)!
https://www.montysbrewery.co.uk/
My sister in law developed an allergy to alcohol about 10(ish) years ago. It came out of nowhere when she was approx 35-40 YO.
In the late 90’s when I was in my early 20s I developed an intolerance to alcohol, even a couple of pints would make me really ill. I was eventually diagnosed with a Helicobacter pylori infection and after a course of antibiotics I was fine again.
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Positive effect can be a 'placebo effect'
"Well they would say that ... wouldn't they!"
A placebo effect is a wonderful thing. Real benefit with no side effects (I don’t count having to give up gluten as a bad side effect, as mostly it leads to a healthier diet anyway).
In any case, if rashes, diarrhoea, bloating and pain reduce I don’t care about the mechanism by which it worked.
Placebo in this case might be really important - we know how much stress and psychological factors play a huge role in gut symptoms so maybe that is the mechanism of a strong placebo effect. Doesn’t matter.
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Yes and very true.
In my prior comments I was attempting to draw attention to the current belief in some quarters that 'gluten free' is the answer to many people's gut problems ... it isn't because there are so many other factors which can affect digestion.
However, fact remains that there are 'influencers' who persuade people to 'go gluten free' when there is no need to.
Prof. Tim Spector writes in his 'Spoon Fed' book about the placebo effect of 'gluten free' diets / trials where he also mentions:
1) the dangers of going 'gluten free' e.g., the fact that gluten free products are lacking in vitamin B12, folate, zinc, magnesium,, selenium, and calcium
2) the fact that processed GF food ingredients' lists include many added chemicals which could be having unknown effects on our bodies ... in particular the gut microbiome which if compromised can affect our immune systems
3) the danger of GF foods leading to greater risk of weight gain and diabetes
When I witness Sainsbury's customers loading up their trolleys with loads of GF products, I think of the break-time discussions in my former workplace amongst the ladies who habitually advocated GF foods as being the answer to their prayers ... some believing they must have coeliac disease even though they'd never been tested for same. They all had very high pressure jobs with hard and sometimes impossible to meet 'targets' ... and some smoked and drank too much ... and on Monday mornings boasted about their weekend alcohol consumption and resultant hangovers.
Their health problems were likely stress related ... often temporarily relieved by alcohol.
dunk
"Well they would say that ... wouldn't they!"
One big issue with the gluten free trend (and I have a friend who is severely coeliac so understand how debilitating a true reaction is) is for those with other allergies.
My son is severely allergic to legumes, and unfortunately a common substitute for gluten is gram flour… made from chickpeas. It is being put in more and more foods, including sweets, which makes his life very difficult as it is not always easy to spot on labels.
My uncle had it for years and the medical profession didn’t diagnose. My mother mentioned about gluten intolerance and his life was transformed.
I've never 'got' alcohol. I find beer tastes foul and while some spirits / mixers are rather tasty one decent G&T can set off a hangover of epic proportions.
In my youth this meant if I was going to drink. I DRANK to ensure that the hangover was 'worth it, always finishing the evening off with a Cointreau out of some misguided belief that orange == vitamin C. With age has come enlightenment and now I am 'the designated driver' and hardly touch a drop. I don't refer to myself as 'tee-total' as I will have a small one in social situations when pressed but always switch to something non alcoholic after.
I do look on with envy at those who can relax with a whiskey / brandy and a cigar after a hard week / day. That said I probably have fewer health issues than I would if I did drink so there's that.
I self test for alcohol allergy on a regular basis. Indeed I'm due a test today at @ 12.15pm. ;-)
F.T.F.A.
I confess, I have always got the hangover shortly after starting, my brother and father are exactly the same, so I assume it's genetic. So while there are a wide range of alcohols that I really enjoy about a unit of. I invariably stop there. I don't know about allergy, but I long ago decided that I'm intolerant.
I’ve definitely noticed a difference as I’ve gotten older that my reaction to alcohol has changed, I don’t enjoy drinking as much as I used to and I can feel rather ill after even a couple of pints nowadays.
Hangovers feel way worse now and I almost begin to feel the hangover within an hour of having my first drink, I can’t describe it but I literally feel ill and feel like I want to crawl under a blanket and stop socialising,I tend to enjoy my evening better if I stick to a single drink nowadays or none at all.
I am interested in the 'late onset' of allergies and intolerances. Throughout most of my life I had eaten/drank dairy products and ordinary bread with no discernable ill effects. At 62 I started experiencing a range of symptoms including chest pain, stomach ache, acid reflux, random rashes and migraines.
So I had all the tests (patch, DNA, blood proteins, etc, etc). It was found that I had a wheat intolerance and an allergy to dairy protein (casein). The pain in my chest was due to my gut being inflamed by the wheat intolerance. I am not celiac.
The question is; why did these issues 'suddenly' occur/present when, as I said, I had had no problems with drinking beer, eating bread, eating cheese and drinking milk previously?
This 'late onset' issue seems to be fairly widespread. I wonder if common medications, that tend to be taken by older people, are causing this? For instance Omeprazole (or other 'prazoles').
Has there been any scientific studies on this?
Anyway, Gluten free bread is not nice, and vegan cheese is truly vile, but cutting out wheat and dairy has eradicated the most debilitating symptoms. I cannot drink most pub beers, but luckily I like a glass of red.
I’ve a fish and shellfish allergy and the isinglass causes a reaction like a hangover after less than a pint of most real ales, and a host of lagers. Which is a shame as I do love a nice real ale.
I tend to drink cider to make sure I’m safe, however there are several vegan beer lists online which I do check when visiting a new establishment.
Do you have any history of taking prescribed antibiotics? If so, antibiotics can compromise the gut microbiota (microbiome) ... a major contributor to a healthy immune system ... and a weakened immune system can result in greater propensity to allergies.
Following steadily improving my microbiome by consumption of 'microbiome friendly foods' over the last 3 years, I have completely remedied severe hay fever ... thus no longer require hay fever remedies. I have a history over many years of overprescribed antibiotics.
All well documented online ... try Googling "allergies and microbiome" ... read the articles and watch the videos. Too many antibiotics can compromise the gut mucosa which can result in heartburn.
GPs nowadays do not usually overprescribe antibiotics because they're aware of the risks. Over 40 years ago i was prescribed 3 x 500mg oxytetracycline daily for at least 4 months. One night I woke up
feeling as if my stomach was on fire ... excrutiating indigestion / heartburn ... took weeks to recover and suffered digestive problems for years afterwards. In those days both GPs and dental surgeons dished out antibiotics like sweets.
Last edited by sundial; 8th November 2021 at 04:29.
"Well they would say that ... wouldn't they!"
When I was at university I used have some drinks after my studies on Fridays but then I came across some lecture about the harm of spirits on brain functioning and I stopped drinking spirits that very moment. So in a way I can say that I am also allergic to alcohol. And I must admit that it is the best allergy in the world :)
Last edited by Owren; 15th November 2021 at 18:52.
Sorry I haven't got back to you sooner. I think I was in my 40s when diagnosed. I probably had issues for a long time but it wasn't before it became acute (down to 8 1/2st and skinny height about 5ft 10inches btw) that it was suggested by my wife who insisted I got tested. I was fine in my 20s but had a bad life experience after leaving University and was never the same after that and into my 30s. Docs didn't want to test for some reason, but wife insisted. The rest is history. My Dad had it too and diagnosed in 40s also - I think it is partly genetic. It seems to get triggered by life events - a shock or life event or something.
Coeliac disease is a definite yes/no as regards gluten - if you eat gluten and you have Coeliac disease, eventually it will kill you (not straight away). Coeliac decease is not a gluten allergy. It is an auto-immune disease that causes the body to attack the villi in the gut lining, leading to malnutrition and because of no absorption of nutrients, eventually death. I think you body can adapt - much like a smokers lungs can adapt to their habit of putting tar down themselves, but eventually something tips their body over and they have a cancerous growth or some other disease. In the same way Coelic disease can become acute for some stress reason then has to be actively managed after that.
Personally I tend to get bad stomach craps if I have food containing gluten and other effects at the other end (and I bet if I smoked a cigarette again I would be coughing my guts up too).
Sadly there is much higher risk of cancers along the digestive track end-to-end and I am apprehensive knowing my Dad died of throat cancer at 66 - quite ominously close to my age. But I have been keeping healthy and active so hope to make it passed that age.
Goodness - how morbid, time for another whiskey!
Martyn
“ Ford... you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.” HHGTTG
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